US3253718A

US3253718A - Buffer

Info

Publication number: US3253718A
Application number: US388534A
Authority: US
Inventors: Carl A Anderson; Belle Laurence T La
Original assignee: W H MINER Inc
Current assignee: W H MINER Inc
Priority date: 1964-08-10
Filing date: 1964-08-10
Publication date: 1966-05-31
Anticipated expiration: 1983-05-31

Description

y 1966 c. A. ANDERSON ETAL 3,253,718

BUFFER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 10, 1964 INVENTOR. Car/ 16? finder-son ygurence Z" (a lie y 1966 c. A. ANDERSON ETAL 3,253,}718

BUFFER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1964 INVENTOR. Car/ 17. flrvde r301? Laur as 77.40 //s United States Patent 3,253,718 BUFFER Carl A. Anderson, Chesterton, Ind., and Laurence T. La Belle, Westchester, IlL, assignors to W. H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 10, 1964, Ser. No. 388,534 4 Claims. (Cl. 213220) This invention relates in general to railway car shock absorbing mechanisms and more particularly to an economical butter for use with couplers employing draw hooks.

Rolling stock utilizing draw hooks in their couplers must employ shock absorbing mechanisms or buffers whose stroke corresponds to the travel of the particular couplers. Such couplers are usually used on cars which are subsequently intended to be equipped with draft gears. It therefore .-is desirable that the shock absorbing mechanism used with the draw hook couplers be of such construction that it may be economically discarded at such time as the draft gear is employed while having a stroke that corresponds to the stroke of a wide variety of draw hook couplers.

Briefly, the present invention provides an economical buffer which meets the needs described above in a simple and unique manner. Thus, the butter in elfect comprises a pair of telescoping tubes in which the resilient or shock absorbing apparatus is carried. The length of travel of the tubes relative to each other is regulated by slots in one tube which are engaged by stops carried by the other tube. The stops are inserted through the other tube after the tubes are assembled and they are held in position by a very simple arrangement. The assembly and construction of the buffer are therefore very economical and by providing slots of diiferent lengths in the one tube an extremely wide variety of strokes is permitted.

A primary object therefore of the present invention is to provide an economical shock absorbing mechanism for use on railway cars.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a butler that is easily assembled for use with railway cars employing draw hook couplers.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a shock absorbing mechanism which may accommodate the various strokes of different types of draw hook couplers.

Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent on examination of the following specification and claims together with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a central longitudinal vertical section of a buffer incorporating the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse vertical section taken generally on the line 22 in FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged scale perspective view of the stop; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged scale perspective view of the" locking key.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a buffer for use on a railway car is indicated generally by the reference character 10. It comprises a pair of

telescoping tubes

12 and 14 with tube 12 designated as a cylinder and tube 14 designated as a sleeve 14 which receives the cylinder. A buffer head 16 is provided on one end of the cylinder 12 for engagement with suitable apparatus on an adjoining car. A rear mounting plate 18 is fixed to the end of the sleeve 14 opposite that in which the cylinder 12 is received. The mounting plate 18 is provided with apertures 20 for mounting the buffer on a railway car.

A helical spring 22 is carried in the cylinder 12 and it 3,253,718 Patented May 31, 1966 "ice is seated between the buffer head 16 and a spring follower 24 carried in the sleeve 14. The spring follower 24 in turn is engaged against a pair of tandemly arranged rubber pads 26. The cylinder 12 is thus adapted for oscillating movement in the sleeve 14 in response to pressure on the buffer head 16 or the expansive force of the spring 22 when pressure is relieved from the butter head 16. In order to limit the stroke of the cylinder 12 in either direction, the cylinder is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite

elongated slots

28 and 30, the ends of which are engaged by respective stop assemblies 32 carried by the sleeve 14.

Each stop assembly 32 comprises a generally rectangular U-shaped stop member 34 and an L-shaped locking key 36. These are carried in rectangular apertures 38 in the sleeve 14.

To assemble the buffer 19, the cylinder 12 and the spring 22 are simply inserted in the sleeve 14, after the rubber pads 26 and the spring follower 24 have been placed therein, with the

slots

28 and 30 in the cylinder 12 in alignment with the apertures 38 in the sleeve 14. The U-shaped stop members 34 are then inserted in the apertures 38, as shown in the drawings, so that one leg 40 of each is disposed against the outer surface of the sleeve 14 and the other leg 41 of each is received in the

cylinder slots

28 and 30. The apertures 38 are sufficiently wide that the full length of each leg 41 may pass therethrough easily and the distance between the

legs

40 and 41 is dimensioned so that when the leg 40 is engaged with the outer surface of the sleeve 14, the other leg 41 is disposed in its

respective slot

28 or 30 and the wall of the sleeve 12 is straddled by the member 34. The L-shaped locking keys 36 are then inserted in the apertures 38. One leg 44 of each key 36 seats against the outer surface of the sleeve 14 while the other leg 46 thereof is dimensioned so that it snugly fills the remaining vacant space in aperture 38 with its end being engaged in its

respective slot

28 or 30. With this arrangement,

the U-s'haped stops 34 and the keys 36 snugly fill the apertures 38 and cannot become misaligned. After each stop assembly 32 has been so engaged in its

respective slots

28 and 30 in the cylinder 12, the stop assemblies may be securely retained in such relationship by depositing a small amount of weld material between the leg 44 of the locking key 36 and the outer surface of the sleeve 14, as indicated at 47 in FIG. 1.

With the stop assemblies 32 in position, the buffer head 16 in closing may now move to the right only until the left edges of

slots

28 and 30 encounter the legs 41 of the stop members 34. Similarly the spring 22 may move the cylinder 12 to the left until the right edges of the

slots

28 and 30 encounter the legs 46 of the keys 36, as shown in FIG. 1. This provides the buffer 10 with a stroke corresponding to the usual draw hook coupler.

In the event a longer stroke is needed, slots 48 are provided in the cylinder 12. In this case the slots 48 would be aligned with the apertures 38 when the bufier is assembled and the stop assembly 32 would be engaged therewith in the manner previously described. As the slots 48 are longer than the

slots

28 and 30, the cylinder may travel a correspondingly greater increment if needed to provide a longer stroke for the butter 10.

The foregoing is the description of an economical buffer capable of use with draw hook couplers of different strokes and whose inventive concepts are believed set forth in the accompanying claims.

\Vhat is claimed as new is! 1. A butter for use on a railway car, the improvement comprising one tube having longitudinally extending slots therein and carrying a buffer head on one end thereof, another tube encircling said one tube for telescopically receiving said one tube and having a rear wall for mounting same on said car, a helical spring in said one inner tube having one end engaged with said buifer head, a spring follower in said other outer tube engaged with the other-end of said spring, resilient pad means between said follower and said rear wall, said outer tube having circumferentially spaced apertures therein, a U-shaped stop having legs adapted to be inserted through any one of said apertures with one leg of said stop being selectively engageable in one of said slots and the other leg of said stop being engageable against the external surface of said outer tube whereby said legs of said stop straddle the wall of said outer tube, and an L-shaped key member adapted to be inserted in said one aperture alongside said U-shaped stop with one leg of said key member being engageable against the external surface of said outer tube and the other leg of said key member being engageable in said one slot whereby to firmly seat said U-shaped stop against the edge of the straddled wall of said outer tube.

2. The buifer claimed in claim 1 in which said slots in said one tube are of difiering lengths whereby the travel of said one tube may be varied.

3. A buffer for use on a railway car, the improvement comprising an inner tube having longitudinally extending slots therein, an outer tube encircling said inner tube for telescopically receiving same, resilient means carried by said tubes whereby said inner tube is biased in one direction away from said outer tube and is adapted to be moved toward said outer tube in response to the application of pressure thereto, said outer tube having circumferentially spaced apertures therein, a U-shaped stop having legs adapted to be inserted through any one of said apertures with one leg of said stop being selectively engageable in any one of said slots and the other leg of said stop being engageable against the outer surface of said outer tube, and an L-shaped key member adapted to be inserted in said one aperture alongside said U-shaped stop with one leg of said key member being engageable against the outer surface of said outer tube and the other leg of said key member being engageable in said one slot whereby to firmly seat said U-shaped stop against one edge of said aperture in embracing engagement therewith.

4. For use on a railway car, a buffer comprising one tube having longitudinal slots of different lengths formed therein, another tube for telescopically receiving said one tube and having an aperture therein, resilient means car ried by said tubes for biasing said tubes apart, and stop means adapted to be inserted through said aperture for selective engagement in any one of said slots for limiting the travel of said one tube when said stop means en'- counters opposite end edges of said engaged slot with the length of said travel varying dependent upon with which said stop means is engaged.

References Citedby the Examiner 10/1932 France.

EUGENE G. BOTZ, Primary Examiner.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Examiner.

B. FAUST, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A BUFFER FOR USE ON A RAILWAY CAR, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING ONE TUBE HAVING LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLOTS THEREIN AND CARRYING A BUFFER HEAD ON ONE END THEREOF ANOTHER TUBE ENCIRCLING A SAID ONE TUBE FOR TELESCOPICALLY RECEIVING SAID ONE TUBE AND HAVING A REAR WALL FOR MOUNT ING SAME ON SAID CAR, A HELICAL SPRING IN SAID ONE INNER TUBE HAVING ONE END ENGAGED WITH SAID BUFFER HEAD, A SPRING FOLLOWER IN SAID OTHER OUTER TUBE ENGAGED WITH THE OTHER END OF SAID SPRING, RESILIENT PAD MEANS BETWEEN SAID FOLLOWER AND SAID REAR WALL, SAID OUTER TUBE HAVING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED APERTURES THEREIN, A U-SHAPED STOP HAVING LEGS ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED THROUGH ANY ONE OF SAID APERTURES WITH ONE LEG OF SAID STOP BEING SELECTIVELY ENGAGEABLE IN ONE OF SAID SLOTS AND THE OTHER LEG OF SAID STOP BEING ENGAGEABLE AGAINST THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF SAID OUTER TUBE WHEREBY SAID LEGS OF SAID STOP STRADDLE THE WALL OF SAID OUTER TUBE, AND AN L-SHAPED KEY MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED IN SAID ONE APERTURE ALONGSIDE SAID U-SHAPED STOP WITH ONE LEG OF SAID KEY MEMBER BEING ENGAGEABLE AGAINST THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF SAID OUTER TUBE AND THE OTHER LEG OF SAID KEY MEMBER BEING ENGAGEABLE IN SAID SLOT WHEREBY TO FIRMLY SEAT SAID U-SHAPED STOP AGAINST THE EDGE OF THE STRADDLE WALL OF SAID OUTER TUBE.